


Breaking the Barriers

by hermionemonica



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien will cry, Disadvantages of a public platform hhh, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nino being a concerned bro, Post Reveal, Pre Relationship, but is essentially Adrienette all the while, implied steamy kisses, only kisses and touches, starts off Ladrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22251022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermionemonica/pseuds/hermionemonica
Summary: A considerably agitated Nino calls Marinette in the middle of the night to say that Adrien is not replying to him. Soon she is on her way to a certain model's house, only to find him in extreme emotional pain. What is wrong, and what will Marinette end up doing to comfort him?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 30
Kudos: 248





	Breaking the Barriers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lalunaoscura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalunaoscura/gifts).



> Wishing you a very happy birthday, my friend! I hope you like this.

“Hey, Nino! What's up?” 

“I’m really sorry to disturb you at this hour Marinette, but Adrien is not picking up my calls nor replying to my messages.” 

Marinette sat up straighter. “What are you saying?” 

“I don't know, maybe his old man grounded him again or something, but I don't have a good feeling about this.” 

“Okay I got this,” Marinette was already shoving her notebooks away. “I'll text you when I reach him.” 

“I'm not sure if you will be able to contact him,” Nino sounded unsure. 

_He can’t ignore me if I physically show up though_ , thought Marinette. 

“You know me, Nino. I got my ways.” 

“Okay, just drop me a line to let me know that he's alright, or if he is-" 

“Don't worry, he'll be fine,” Marinette said with a conviction she wasn't quite feeling herself. 

As soon as she ended the call, Tikki floated over in front of her, “Adrien?” 

“Yeah. Nino says he's not responding to him. He has never done that before.” 

Tikki smiled knowingly. “Just say the words.” 

“Tikki, spots on!” 

Within a moment, Ladybug had climbed out of Marinette's room and was swinging her way to a certain model. 

_Knock-knock._

Adrien looked up over the back of his couch towards the closed window from where the sound came. 

“Marinette?” 

He hesitated for a moment, but then gave in. He hurried over to his window. 

He paused again in front of his window. His lady was hanging on the other side of his window, separated from him only by a glass pane. He hadn't seen her in more than twenty-four hours. And just like every time, he was mesmerized by her ocean-blue eyes. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, probably from the cold outside, but he thought it made her look all the more beautiful. 

He was broken out of his reverie by her fist thumping on the glass. 

_Are you going to let me in or what?_ she mouthed. 

_It would be a disrespect to leave a Princess waiting outside when she had shown up at his window,_ he thought while opening the window to let her in. 

The first thing Ladybug did after getting into Adrien’s room was to enfold him in a tight hug. 

Adrien was surprised at first, but he soon melted into her warm embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. And slowly he could feel the tension floating away from his body. 

This felt good. 

After a long moment, they let go of each other, very slowly. And then Ladybug said, “Tell me.” 

Adrien knew she would want to know. All evening, he had retreated into his little shell and refused to interact with anyone. He refused to touch his phone or come out of his room. He even cancelled his photoshoot saying he was not feeling too well. 

His heart had been crying out for Marinette. His Lady. His Princess. Because he knew that she was the only one who could make him feel better. But he couldn't pluck up the nerve to call her or text her. 

But now, when she was looking at him with that piercing gaze, that was both concerned and demanding at the same time, he could not find it in himself to hold back any longer. 

“Promise me you'll not get upset?” 

“I'm sorry Adrien, but I cannot promise you that. If it is something that upset you so much, then I am probably going to get upset as well and I am going to fight it.” 

_How could this girl have him so intimidated and in love with her at the same time?_

He led her to his couch, where he was sitting earlier. Marinette noticed his Ladybug plush, and it had dents on it that looked like he had been holding it really tightly. This didn't look good; Adrien was not okay at all. 

“Please wait here,” she heard him say as he made his way upstairs. 

Adrien needed to get his phone. He had kept the phone somewhere on his bookshelves, just to be away from everything for a while. When he turned it on, he was shocked to find 55 missed calls, 17 voice messages, and 92 texts from Nino in the past three hours. 

Adrien smiled. He was so lucky to have friends like Nino and Marinette, who cared for him so much. But then the other thing came back to him in a rush, and he felt tears forming up in his eyes. 

“Adrien, are you alright up there?” 

Marinette's voice brought him back to reality. It was incredible how she seemed to just know that it was her voice that he needed to hear then. 

“Yeah, I’m coming down in a minute!” he called out. 

And he did come down in a minute. He decided that it would take him some time to respond to all of Nino's messages. But he could not just leave him hanging like that, so he just sent him one little text: _I'm alright. Don’t worry about me, man. I'll call you when I'm free. Sorry for worrying you._

“Hey Princess,” he announced, taking her by surprise. He noticed she was typing away on her yo-yo phone. “Did I interrupt something?” 

“Oh no,” Ladybug said, shutting down her yo-yo. “I was just texting Nino. He has been worried to death.” 

“I know,” Adrien sighed, settling down on the couch beside her. “There are so many alerts on my phone from him.” His voice dropped to a whisper, “I am sorry for making you guys worry.” 

“No Adrien!” Ladybug placed her hands on both of his cheeks, gently turning his head towards her. “Please stop saying things like that! We worry about you because we care about you!” 

Adrien smiled at that, but Marinette noticed how his smile did not even reach his eyes. 

His smile faded too soon. He took his phone and did something on it, and then nervously extended it towards her. Ladybug took the phone from his shaking hands. The screen showed a page on the Ladyblog. It was the video of last week's akuma battle. The one in which Chat Noir ended up being captured, and the supervillain was holding him hostage to coax Ladybug into giving up her Miraculous. Luckily, she managed to find a way and got Chat out of there in time, deakumatised the villain and saved the day. 

Right now, Ladybug was reading a thread of comments. The very first one read: _“How is Chat Noir even a hero? All he ever does is get captured, get turned into one of the_ _akuma's_ _minions or distract Ladybug.”_

Marinette felt her blood boiling. Her temples throbbing, she scrolled down to read the replies. And when she did, she almost wanted to smash the phone into two. Because there were at least twenty people who seemed to agree with that person. 

_“How many battles does Chat Noir even fight in? On Ladybug’s side, I mean.”_

_“I wonder what_ _loser_ _is under that silly leather suit.”_

_“He thinks he looks cool but the stupid bell is such a ridiculous accessory.”_

With every word she read, her fist clenched tighter. And when she read a comment that said _“Ladybug would be much better by herself without that stupid cat”_ , that was it for her. She hurled the phone away (luckily it landed on the carpet) and rose to her feet with an oath. “How dare they?” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Who do these people think they are? I can very well decide who I want to be my partner and I want none of their opinions! And hiding behind fake usernames ha! I swear I'm going to track them down and-" 

“Are they really wrong though?” Adrien’s little voice cut her off in the middle of her rant. Marinette turned to look at him. He had his knees pulled up to his face and was trying his best to curl up into himself. It was then that she noticed that his ring was not on his finger. _Which explains why_ _Plagg_ _wasn’t with Adrien before I came_ , Marinette thought. 

Her heart bled for this poor boy; she couldn't even begin to imagine the hell he was going through. 

“Oh kitty,” she whispered, plopping down onto the couch and wrapping her arms around him, pulling him close. At first Adrien tried to resist, but then he gave in. He broke down utterly. All his defenses completely gave way as Ladybug rested his head on her bosom. She placed one hand on the side of his head and the other around him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held on as tight as he could. They stayed like that for a while, Marinette holding on to this boy crying his heart out. 

Marinette was aware that Adrien had grown up with severe self-esteem issues. All his life, he had been made to believe that he wasn't good enough. Being Chat Noir had been his only escape, but now people were attacking Chat as well. 

After a while, she loosened the embrace only slightly, and began to rub soothing circles on his back. “You know,” came her voice, “how much you mean to me, and how much I need you.” 

Adrien sighed. “That's because you're blinded by your lo-" He checked himself. “By your trust in me. But maybe you really would be better off with any other partner. Or any other Chat Noir.” 

“No, Adrien,” Ladybug tightened her hold on him, “no one will ever be you. You are my partner, my Chat Noir.” 

_My Chat Noir._

Marinette had never realised how beautiful those words felt on her lips. 

“I know you do all of that only to protect me. If it were not for you, then I- I don't know what would have happened to me,” Ladybug whispered. 

“Please don't say things like that. I cannot imagine you not being there.” 

“And I cannot imagine you not being there. Ladybug is nothing without you. Neither is Marinette.” 

“You-you really think like that?” 

“Yes, I do. And that is the truth,” Marinette spoke lovingly. “I need you, Adrien.” 

At those words, Adrien broke down into a fresh bout of tears. Shaking uncontrollably, he clutched onto Ladybug and he wept like a baby. 

This was not the first time she was seeing Adrien like this. But it made her heart bleed every time he broke down. Here was this pure kind soul, who deserved all the happiness in the world, but why did he have to be the one to suffer? 

Gradually, she felt his breathing calm down. “Princess,” Adrien mewed. 

“Yes?” Ladybug whispered back, not loosening her hold on Adrien. 

“Can you- can you detransform?” he asked in a little voice. “Please? I really want to...” The rest of his sentence dissolved into an inaudible murmur. 

“What was that, kitty? I didn't catch the last bit.” 

Adrien leaned his head back a little to look at her. Marinette noticed that his expression was still troubled. He ran his hand down her arm, sending a strange shiver through her spine. And then he looked straight into her eyes. 

“I want to feel your skin on mine.” 

A fierce blush rose to Ladybug’s cheeks. _Did Adrien really just say that?_

“Adrien, I-" 

Adrien put a finger to her lips to shush her. “Please Marinette.” 

Was he out of his mind? What was he trying to do? He knew very well that they had agreed to keep things strictly platonic between them! Then why was he suddenly asking for something that would clearly break down all the walls between them? 

No, she was definitely overthinking this. There wasn't anything wrong about what Adrien was asking for! It must be unsettling for him to feel her suit under his hands; she had felt the same way sometimes before. There was nothing wrong with a little bit of a friendly touch! And that's precisely what he was asking for, right? 

It was just she was getting a little too carried away by her emotions. But right now, Adrien was in pain. Her best friend, her partner was suffering, and all he was asking for was to be comforted. He might not be in his proper senses right now, but that doesn't mean that she wasn't. She knew where to stop. 

“Tikki, spots off.” 

When the pink light of detransformation came over her, Adrien did not flinch nor closed his eyes. He kept staring at her with the fascination of staring at fire. But strangely, the fire seemed to be in his eyes. 

Marinette looked at Tikki and subtly nodded at Adrien’s bare finger. Tikki nodded back and flew away silently. Marinette turned back to Adrien and smiled weakly. And that was all it took for him to reclaim his place in Marinette's arms. 

Marinette unconsciously reclined back, so that she was leaning against the arm of the couch, and Adrien was lying on top of her. He did not seem to mind the change of position; rather it liked like he was more comfortable that way. He purred softly. 

After a while, Adrien lifted his head to look at her. Marinette thought she saw a little desperation in his eyes. A little impatience. She didn't have to wonder for long, however, because his next words made it clear what he was thinking about. 

“Can I kiss you?” Adrien whispered, stealing glances between her eyes and her lips. 

What would she not have given to hear those words from him? 

But this time, it was a no. She was not going to take advantage of Adrien like this. He was sad, he was weak, he was not in his senses, and it was her responsibility to stop him from doing anything that he would regret later on. No matter how tempting it could be. No matter how much it pained her to turn him down. 

“We can’t, Adrien.” 

“Why not, Marinette?” Adrien broke away from the embrace and sat up straighter. 

“You know why.” 

“No, like really,” Adrien went on, “What sense does it make? Here we are, two people absolutely perfect for each other, completely in love with each other,” Marinette’s eyes widened at how easily the words flowed from his lips, “and yet we can't be together? Why?” 

Marinette was stunned into silence for a few seconds. And then she spoke in a little whisper, “You know we have to be responsible, for the sake of Paris.” 

“But why does that mean that we have to be so unfair to ourselves?” 

For once, Marinette could not find any reason to counter Adrien's words, no matter how hard she tried. And it certainly wasn't helping that Adrien was staring at her with that intense look in his eyes, begging, imploring. 

Adrien placed a hand on the side of her face, and she instinctively leaned into his touch. “I promise you, what happens tonight will stay between the walls of my room. No one needs ever know.” 

_Could they ever stop if they started it?_

But the next words Adrien spoke made the last of her resolve crumble down. 

“I want you Marinette,” he spoke in a husky voice, one that sent chills through her body. 

“I want you too, Adrien.” 

_Wait, did she just say that out loud?_

“Then nothing can stop us,” Adrien growled, before crashing his lips into hers with a burning passion. 

Neither knew how long the kiss lasted or how things accelerated from there. It was only when an incessant ringing on Marinette’s phone woke her up that she realised that she had fallen asleep for more than two hours. Groggily opening one eye, she saw that Nino was calling her. As soon as she received the call he started shouting in a worried voice. 

“Where have you guys been? I have been calling both of your phones for the last two hours and I cannot reach any of you! Adrien texted that he would call me later but he didn't and now his phone is switched off! And you would receive neither my calls nor Alya's, do you have any idea how worried we have been?” 

“Nino, I-" she began, but was interrupted by a grunt coming from her pillow. She looked up in confusion and realised her head had been resting on a bare chest. 

Adrien's bare chest. 

She sprung backward with a gasp. 

“Marinette are you okay?” Nino's voice came through her phone. 

“Ye-yes I am grand! Hey, I'll call you later okay, I-I fell asleep!” 

“You fell asle-" 

“MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG, ARE YOU SAYING YOU SLEPT WITH ADRIEN?” 

“Alya, where did you come from?” 

“I added her on conference call. But is that true? Did you guys sleep together?” 

“I'll call you in a moment, okay?” Saying so, she hurriedly ended the call. There was a lot to process right now. 

Apparently, she had fallen asleep with her head on Adrien’s chest, her left foot sprawled over his body. Adrien was topless, and his hair was a mess. Oh, and Marinette was only in her bra. 

The good thing was both her jeans and Adrien's pajamas were intact. So, nothing happened, right? 

And then Marinette began to remember what had happened. They had ended up making out on the couch, and then Adrien had carried her to his bed. Drunk on the heat of the moment, they had undressed (partially), and all the pent-up desires had taken over them as they had tried to touch and kiss every exposed part of the other's body that they could reach. 

The talking had woken up Adrien, who was rubbing his eyes. When he removed his hands from his eyes and looked at Marinette, his face assumed an expression of surprise. But it quickly relaxed into a smile. 

“Is it morning already?” he asked. 

Marinette felt the situation was strangely domestic. And it made her feel all the more guilty and embarrassed. 

“I- I am sorry about what happened,” she said, looking away. 

“Oh no, you don't need to be sorry,” Adrien spoke up. “Unless,” his voice trailed away, “Marinette, do you regret doing this?” 

_Did she regret doing the one thing her love-struck heart had always wanted to do?_ “I- I don't.” 

“Thanks for making me feel better, m’ lady,” he mumbled, but his sleepy voice was doing things to her brain. 

“I- uh, I need to find Tikki,” she grabbed her shirt which was lying on the other side of the bed and turned to leave, when Adrien held her hand. 

“Before you go, can I get one last kiss? I mean we don't have to, and I definitely am not asking you- mmph?” 

The rest of his words remained unspoken as Marinette dove in for one long, passionate, hungry kiss. 

When they finally let go of each other, Marinette rested her forehead on Adrien’s. “Chaton?” 

“Mm-hm?” 

“Please never think of leaving me, again,” she whispered. Adrien’s eyes widened as he felt her slowly pushing the ring onto his finger. 

Plagg zoomed out and immediately went into a rant “HOW DARE Y-” 


End file.
